School Laptops: Save or delete?
School Laptops: Save or delete?
The critics were right and just as predicted, seventh- and eighth-graders in Maine are using their state-issued laptops for games and for entertainment, not just tests and homework assignments.
(Anecdotal stories mentioned — edited out by Sean) . . .as Maine’s One-to-One Laptop Program draws to a close. The $37.2 million program, which started in January 2002 under the wing of then Gov. Angus King, ends in early 2006.That means the 37,000 iBook laptops in the states’ middle schools today (seventh- and eight-graders have 34,000 of them, their teachers have 3,000) are supposed to go back to Apple Computer Inc. at the end of the school year.
i just read the full article and it doesn’t bode well for those people who want to see laptop initiatives happen. as i mentioned earlier, assessing these program according to NCLB is the wrong way to measure whether they are effective or not, but that’s what’s going to happen. it also doesn’t help to hear about kids wasting time on the machines, but most adults waste time on these machines as well. in fact, i read recently that adults waste hours of each work day on their computers (e.g., web, email, IM, etc).
so, i suppose it will be interesting to read the final report once the laptop program ends at the end of this year. soon, decisions will need to be made regarding whether to extend the program and i think it’s a hard pill to swallow when the economy is not doing as well as it was when this program started. i don’t know much about the teacher training that went into Maine’s program, but i would bet that very little training (or none) would be enough to see a program like this fail miserably. on the other hand, the Detroit program I mentioned a few weeks ago has training as an integral part of their program, so i hold out hope that they realize more success. Time will tell, eh?
November 7th, 2005 at 10:32 pm
I believe you still should require laptops. This brings more education in schools that bind by the rules in using them. That’s why laptops are used because they are a good source. Yes their should be a rule on using laptops for games and entertainment. The rules have to be set by whoever gives them the laptops. Yes that is a big distraction because some students might have an assignment but their too busy playing games or in the internet looking at something not related to work. I think there should be a block on internets on certain laptops. On the limited ones that don’t have a block should the teachers should supervised them. Now they don’t have to worry abotu all their students trying to get on the internet because they can’t. So overall, depending on how the students act on using the laptops there should be some apple computers in case students don’t abide by thier rules
November 9th, 2005 at 9:04 pm
I agree that not much effort to teacher students about how to use the laptops and when and what they are used for was applied when this program started. If the rules were clearly stated that students would not be allowed to use the laptops for games/leisure activities, then this problem might not have occured. One thing that I was thinking as I read this article was why the school districts would not have put a block on the websites that they did not want students to go to? If the computers belonged to the school, then why didnt they just block out all sites that they felt were unacceptable for use by their students before the students even recieved the laptops? Also, the school districts would need to hire someone to check over the computers to make sure that nothing has been added, or that no blocks had been broken by the students on a regular basis. Maybe there is some kind of program out there already and in that case, the schools would not have to hire someone to do this.
November 10th, 2005 at 11:37 am
I agree with you Sean. I think this is dissapointing to see a program like this dissapear. It’s sad to see that America is trying to better the students but the trainning isn’t proper or if any like Sean stated. I’m a person who likes to dink around on the computer but when it comes to getting work done I’m all for it. I would of liked to see this program for Maine workout. It’s sad to see all this money go to waste and no body can stop it. If the right trainning was taught maybe this program would have been successful. This makes all computer programs look bad when really there a great thing. I hope for technology sake that the Michigan program does well.
November 10th, 2005 at 7:39 pm
Why is is that in so many instances in education the solution is to “Pump more money in?” It’s sad that so much money was invested, but not enough training given (So it appears) to the teachers. I’m really surprised that such a sweeping initiave would be allowed to fail because of such a simple oversight. Technology is useless if no one can utilize it effectively. Yeah,I agree that this makes alot of other technology initiatives look bad as well. Hopefully someone will do it right in the near future.
November 10th, 2005 at 11:17 pm
It is obvious that students are going to get distracted in class and with a means of distraction in front of them, it is even more likely. One cannot focus on the fact that the students use the computers for entertainment purposes. A teacher cannot monitor the activity of a class of 30 students, each individually at every moment. One should be able to look at the grades and assignments of the student. In an ideal world, the students would always stay on task, but that is not reality. In reality, every student will be lost in their own little world or working on their own agenda. As long as they maintain “good†grades and accomplish all that they are assigned, what can a teacher do if the student is not “caught in the act� The program itself should not be based on whether students were on task 100% of the time; it should look at what was accomplished with the technology that was provided.
November 12th, 2005 at 12:59 am
I think that since they spent all that energy into having laptops, that they should have kept them. Ofcourse students are going to play around on their laptop when they get the chance. Students find ways to get off track by other means. The student will probibly feel the weight of their grade when the time comes, and not goof around on their laptop. Then again, as mention before; adults also play on their computer, so what’s going to stop a school aged kid from using their laptop as enternainment? Maybe the schools need to have training in which they learn how to use their laptops more efficiently. Even regulate to some extent, the students’ use during spedicfic periods of time. Perhaps Maine will try again in the future with better results.
November 13th, 2005 at 3:03 am
I can see why these people don’t want to see the laptops go, but if there has been no change in the results why would it make any difference. I personally think it isn’t the greatest idea to give children laptops and expect them to not use them for other things instead of school related items only. I would not vote to have any more funding for these laptops if I had any control. Now I know that this sounds bad since this is a Computers in Education Class, but this is how I feel.
November 13th, 2005 at 12:00 pm
I found this article very interesting. As I looked through the other articles it seems there is a lot more research going into giving students labtops. I think it is a very good idea and its sad to see that it is not working out for this school in Maine. It seems that most of these stupids in their spare time to use their computers towards good means: playing math games, writing stories, and learning about politics. I think without this source of technology for the students they probably would not be as intriged. As Sean said even adults fiddle around on their computers while at work. (My dad is an example..shhh) He is a supervisor at a factory so when he doesn’t have work to do he surfs the net looking at all types of things. He even sends me links to fun tidbits and sometimes newspaper articles or interesting facts. It sounds just like what these kids are doing playing games that will beneifit their math skills just like reading a newspaper will help one learn about their surroundings. Everyone uses their computer to goof around and some time. Some said that the basis of this program should not be primarily on what they are doing on their labtops but how their grades are for the assignments they are given on them to complete. If a student’s grade is 100% but yet they at times goof around, is the labtop really being used for the wrong reasons? It seems that the proper training was not given to these teachers if the labtop situation is getting out of hand, because they should be able to get their attention and get them ingaged in the lesson at hand. I think this type of integration into schools is a great idea and hopefully whats happened in Maine does not ruin the idea. After all technology is evolving and this is what the kids know and is what they need to know to be able to get a job in todays world.
November 13th, 2005 at 3:49 pm
I think this is a very interesting blog topic. We have spent the majority our time in ED205 discussing the importance of technology being integrated into all aspects of education. This article pretty much tells the reader that all the money spent on this program has gone to waste because the students use the laptops for the wrong purposes. It seems as though the teachers should have had more control over what the students were doing - and maybe more training would have helped that. I truly hope that people who read this article do not turn away from technological advances in education just because of one instance.
November 13th, 2005 at 3:52 pm
I think that it is sad to see the use of computers in the Maine school not make a larger difference in the student’s progression as we all would have hoped. I agree with Sean in that if the teachers were not properly trained in the use of these computers the students would not have much benefit. The teachers can only teach what they know and the truth of the matter is that many times students understand more about computers than their teachers do. I know this was the case in my high school; the teachers would ask the students how to do certain things on the computer instead of the teachers teaching the students on the computers. Another problem that could have occurred in Maine was if the programs on the laptops were not easily applicable to the students or the teaching lessons. There is so much more to this then just giving every student a computer and saying, “Ok, now learn.†If the proper steps are taken, I can not see how implementing the use of this many computers could not help the student more then what was found in Maine. I would like to see improvements and changes made and then conduct the experiment again to see if there are any changes in the progress.
November 15th, 2005 at 2:39 pm
I agree that this is a very disappointing thing that has taken place. I believe that laptops are a huge help to students in the classroom and should not be taken away. It is not only helpful to the students, but also to the teachers. No longer does the teacher need to make sure that the computer lab is open and that enough computers are available. The classroom also does not need to move from room to room searching for computers, they are brought to their classroom and remain there for the duration of the period. I think before schools consider removing laptops from their school and no longer make them accesible to their students, they must have rules to go along with the use of the laptops and internet as well as disciplinary actions that will take place if the internet and use of the laptops are abused. I also think that the teacher needs to moniter what their students are looking at when they have access to the internet in the school. The teachers need to have proper training for how to make laptops and internet access work in the classroom.